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The Province
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Province
Top ballet dancers in Vancouver to celebrate dance company's 20th anniversary
B.C. dancer and choreographer Joshua Beamish created MOVETHECOMPANY 20 years ago and now some of North America's top dancers are in the city for a celebration gala As part of their 20th anniversary gala on May 29 and 30 at Vancouver Playhouse, Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY perform Lollapalooza. The 2018 piece was Beamish's first work for The National Ballet of Canada. Photo by Paulo-Garcia Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors When: May 29 & 30, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Where: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St., Vancouver Tickets: From $44-$99 at Some of North America's best ballet dancers are congregating in Vancouver to celebrate the work of Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY, the company that the B.C. dancer and choreographer created 20 years ago. The five pieces in the program include one remount and four Vancouver premieres and feature dancers from San Francisco Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Edmonton and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as local dancers and former artists from Ballet B.C. We talked to Beamish about the retrospective: Q: We're talking a day before the performances. Are you wondering why you decided to mount such an ambitious project? Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A: If you had asked me that a few days ago, I would have said no. But today, now that we're in the thick of it, one could say 'possibly.' Except that the cast is absolutely phenomenal and the dancers have been working so hard. And we're incredibly fortunate as a community to have them here and to be able to see them perform. Q: The program is focused on ballet. Why ballet instead of contemporary dance? A: As a company, our identity is always kind of shifted between more balletic programming with work on point, and then contemporary and theatre work. And our ballet @giselle that we did in 2019 was a big success. We don't often see a lot of classical ballet here, outside of The Nutcracker. And because our last two productions, Source Amnesia and Salt, were more contemporary dance, it felt like the right time for a ballet-focused program. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. B.C. dancer/choreographer Joshua Beamish celebrates 20 years of being on point with a retrospective at Vancouver Playhouse May 29 and 30. Photo by Alex Brinson Photography Q: The earliest piece, Trap Door Party, is from 2007 and features original cast member Amber Barton. What's it like working with a dancer again after all these years? Did she remember the moves? A: I think her experience, as she related it to me, was that she had so many memories of being back in the studio when we were making it. Her movements came back quite readily, and then it was all about approaching the movement with her body as it is now, 18 years later. We're in completely different places in our dancing, in our relationship to dance, and how our bodies approach movement. In my opinion, she looks better now than she did when we made it in our 20s. It's quite extraordinary how the knowledge we gain through a sustained career can allow us to approach virtuosity with a greater efficiency and therefore more freedom. And I've loved being able to reconnect with her, especially in the Dance Center building, where I held the first rehearsals of my career. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY's Endless Summer is set to several Beach Boys songs. Photo by Jake Tupper Q: What can you tell us about Endless Summer, the most recent piece in the program, which is choreographed to music by the Beach Boys? A: I always wanted to make a ballet to pop, because I'm really interested in the rhythm of vocalization. And the Beach Boys are incredibly rhythmic in their approach to the way that they use their voices. Something I love about a lot of their songs is that they sound easy breezy on the surface, but the lyrics are kind of melancholy, there's a lot of hidden depth. That references the era and how it felt like things were free and groovy but at the same time while there was a lot of turmoil politically. The ballet is really about what's under the surface or the untold stories of that era, and also a celebration of being together. Q: Will we hear Kokomo? A: No. But you'll get Good Vibrations. Read More
Calgary Herald
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Top ballet dancers in Vancouver to celebrate dance company's 20th anniversary
Article content Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY presents 20th Anniversary Gala Article content Article content Article content Some of North America's best ballet dancers are congregating in Vancouver to celebrate the work of Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY, the company that the B.C. dancer and choreographer created 20 years ago. Article content Article content The five pieces in the program include one remount and four Vancouver premieres and feature dancers from San Francisco Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Edmonton and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as local dancers and former artists from Ballet B.C. Article content Article content A: If you had asked me that a few days ago, I would have said no. But today, now that we're in the thick of it, one could say 'possibly.' Except that the cast is absolutely phenomenal and the dancers have been working so hard. And we're incredibly fortunate as a community to have them here and to be able to see them perform. Article content Article content A: As a company, our identity is always kind of shifted between more balletic programming with work on point, and then contemporary and theatre work. And our ballet @giselle that we did in 2019 was a big success. We don't often see a lot of classical ballet here, outside of The Nutcracker. And because our last two productions, Source Amnesia and Salt, were more contemporary dance, it felt like the right time for a ballet-focused program. Article content Article content Article content A: I think her experience, as she related it to me, was that she had so many memories of being back in the studio when we were making it. Her movements came back quite readily, and then it was all about approaching the movement with her body as it is now, 18 years later. We're in completely different places in our dancing, in our relationship to dance, and how our bodies approach movement. In my opinion, she looks better now than she did when we made it in our 20s. It's quite extraordinary how the knowledge we gain through a sustained career can allow us to approach virtuosity with a greater efficiency and therefore more freedom. And I've loved being able to reconnect with her, especially in the Dance Center building, where I held the first rehearsals of my career.
Vancouver Sun
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Top ballet dancers in Vancouver to celebrate dance company's 20th anniversary
When: May 29 & 30, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Where: Vancouver Playhouse , 600 Hamilton St., Vancouver Tickets: From $44-$99 at Some of North America's best ballet dancers are congregating in Vancouver to celebrate the work of Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY, the company that the B.C. dancer and choreographer created 20 years ago. The five pieces in the program include one remount and four Vancouver premieres and feature dancers from San Francisco Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Edmonton and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as local dancers and former artists from Ballet B.C. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. We talked to Beamish about the retrospective: A: If you had asked me that a few days ago, I would have said no. But today, now that we're in the thick of it, one could say 'possibly.' Except that the cast is absolutely phenomenal and the dancers have been working so hard. And we're incredibly fortunate as a community to have them here and to be able to see them perform. A: As a company, our identity is always kind of shifted between more balletic programming with work on point, and then contemporary and theatre work. And our ballet @giselle that we did in 2019 was a big success. We don't often see a lot of classical ballet here, outside of The Nutcracker. And because our last two productions, Source Amnesia and Salt, were more contemporary dance, it felt like the right time for a ballet-focused program. A: I think her experience, as she related it to me, was that she had so many memories of being back in the studio when we were making it. Her movements came back quite readily, and then it was all about approaching the movement with her body as it is now, 18 years later. We're in completely different places in our dancing, in our relationship to dance, and how our bodies approach movement. In my opinion, she looks better now than she did when we made it in our 20s. It's quite extraordinary how the knowledge we gain through a sustained career can allow us to approach virtuosity with a greater efficiency and therefore more freedom. And I've loved being able to reconnect with her, especially in the Dance Center building, where I held the first rehearsals of my career. A: I always wanted to make a ballet to pop, because I'm really interested in the rhythm of vocalization. And the Beach Boys are incredibly rhythmic in their approach to the way that they use their voices. Something I love about a lot of their songs is that they sound easy breezy on the surface, but the lyrics are kind of melancholy, there's a lot of hidden depth. That references the era and how it felt like things were free and groovy but at the same time while there was a lot of turmoil politically. The ballet is really about what's under the surface or the untold stories of that era, and also a celebration of being together. A: No. But you'll get Good Vibrations.
CBC
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
This ballerina's kiss goodbye to Swan Lake
Behind the scenes with Heather Ogden as she dances ballet classic for last time Principal dancer Heather Ogden, centre, performs in The National Ballet of Canada's Swan Lake with other dancers on March 18. It was one of Ogden's final three performances of the Russian classic at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Lupul/CBC CBC News Mar. 26, 2025 Principal dancer Heather Ogden has performed Swan Lake for the last time in The National Ballet of Canada's production of the Russian classic. The dual role of Odette/Odile was Ogden's first major one with the National Ballet in 2003. She's been with the company since 1998 and danced lead roles in beloved classics, such as Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. But Ogden says she felt it was the right time for her to bid farewell to Swan Lake this month when she danced in three of the sold-out performances. 'One of my coaches told me, 'You have to give it a kiss goodbye,' ' Ogden said. 'And so I kind of thought it was a nice sentiment to just give it a nice farewell.' ADVERTISEMENT Last week, CBC News photographer Alex Lupul was backstage to capture the ballerina's final two performances of Swan Lake at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. Go behind the scenes with Ogden and all her swan friends as they performed to sold-out audiences on March 18 and 21. Getting ready Ogden said she likes to give herself plenty of time to get ready before the show. For this 7:30 p.m. performance, she'll start preparing at 5 p.m., giving herself an hour for hair and makeup — then an hour to warm up. Warming up In the rehearsal hall before the show, Ogden practised her standard series of warm-ups. She says she was trying some moves from Act 2, when she comes on stage as the White Swan. 'I usually try my first entrance, my first balances and a couple pirouettes — things like that,' she said. Taking the stage This production of Swan Lake, which was directed and staged by the National Ballet's then-artistic director Karen Kain, premiered in June 2022. The original Swan Lake dates back to the late 1800s and is based on a German fairy tale, which tells the story of Prince Siegfried and Odette, a princess in a faraway kingdom who is turned into a swan after being cursed by the evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart. "When the kingdom's eligible royal, Prince Siegfried, falls in love with Odette, Rothbart conjures a trick to keep them apart — Odile, a ravishing imitation of Odette,' the National Ballet said on its website. Something to remember During her final performance, Ogden says she felt excited and tried to soak it all in. She thought the audience was 'incredibly warm' and appreciative. 'It just felt very nice,' she said. 'I felt very showered with love … It was something I'll remember.' Layout and editing by photo editor Showwei Chu Related Stories Footer Links My Account Profile CBC Gem Newsletters Connect with CBC Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Mobile RSS Podcasts Contact CBC Submit Feedback Help Centre Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6 Toll-free (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636 TTY/Teletype writer: 1-866-220-6045 About CBC Corporate Info Sitemap Reuse & Permission Terms of Use Privacy Jobs Our Unions Independent Producers Political Ads Registry AdChoices Services Ombudsman Public Appearances Commercial Services CBC Shop Doing Business with Us Renting Facilities Accessibility It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. About CBC Accessibility Accessibility Feedback © 2025 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved. Visitez
